Dreams Come True
by phantomthief1412
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Dectective Conan or any of the characters. After 5 years in America, Ai Haibara, now 23, has returned to Japan. What will happen in the country of her birth, where she has so many memories? Please r&r. Thanks to all reviewers.
1. Prologue

On a clear, beautiful day when the sky was clear for miles and adorned by white puffs of clouds, a slim, red-haired girl stepped off of a plane that had just arrived from the United States at the bustling airport in Tokyo. The girl, whose red hair reached just past her shoulders, had flawless white skin and was known to her friends as Ai Haibara. A gleaming pearl drop earring hung from each of her ears, and she wore a deep green t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. She appeared to be a normal young woman in her early twenties. However, she wasn't. If one looked deeply in her blue eyes, pain and wisdom, neither of which could ever be lost or forgotten, could be seen clearly. More wisdom than a person could have gained in two short decades and more pain than anyone should ever have suffered were covered by dense clouds, hidden, but still in existence. Ai Haibara sighed and inhaled deeply. It had been a long time since she'd set foot in Japan. Five years ago, she had left, thinking that she would never return. She had hoped a new life and new surroundings would help her blot away all of her memories. She had poured heart and soul into her new life, but as she stepped on the familiar land of her birth, memories that she hadn't thought of for years were suddenly alive and vivid in her head.  
"Haibara, give it to me." Conan Edogawa put forward his hand, ready to receive what he was asking for, what he was always asking for. His brows were furrowed, and he fixed an intense stare on the girl with the red-blond hair that stood before him. Ai tucked a strand of her hair neatly behind her ear before making any sort of reply.  
"What?" she turned to face him, her brows arched, a cool expression on her face, anticipating a challenge.   
"The antidote! What else?" Conan grit his teeth in frustration. "Haibara, it's been months since you had the temporary one. Haven't you got it yet?"  
Ai closed his extended palm and pushed it back to his side.   
"It's not an easy matter. You know that. You know that I don't have much data. You don't even know how much I have worked on this. Do you know how long it took to create APTX-4869? Even after all the years, it wasn't the perfect poison. You and I are proof of that. You think creating the antidote would be an easy matter? A matter of days? Weeks? Or months? It's not. I spent two years just doing preliminary research before I even created any test pills."  
Conan drew back, shocked.  
" How long have you worked on it?" he whispered.   
" My entire life. It was all I was brought up for. Did you think I was suddenly just ordered to make it? That I created it in a day? The only reason I was kept alive was to make it that poison. Before, all anybody wanted was the poison, and now, it's the antidote. Ironic, isn't it?" Ai asked bitterly.   
Ai shook her head. No, no, no. She didn't want to remember. Would she never be free of these memories? Even as she asked herself that question, she knew that she couldn't forget. The memories were etched too deeply in her mind. They had become an intrinsic part of who she was. She clenched her teeth as she felt goose bumps appear on her arms. Her long fingers tightened around the strap of her bag and she picked up her stride. Tomorrow, she reassured herself. She just had to do one thing, and she would be on a plane heading back to America by tomorrow night. Resolutely, she walked towards the exit of the airport with her luggage.  
An hour later, Ai checked into a hotel in Beika. She was in her hotel room, changing, and preparing herself for what she had to do. She had just taken a shower to relieve herself of the fatigue that accompanied sitting for hours in a cramped plane seat. Drops of water dripped onto her robe as she brushed her wet hair. After drying her hair, Ai donned a somber black dress. Then she pinned up her distinctive red hair and hid it under a black hat. She slipped into a pair of black shoes, put on sunglasses, left the hotel, and walked out onto the streets of Beika.   
In the streets, dozens of vendors shouted as they tried to peddle their wares. But Ai was interested in only one thing.   
"Miss? May I help you?" A flower vendor asked hopefully as Ai approached her. Ai didn't speak; she just nodded and pointed silently to a large bouquet of red roses.   
When the roses were purchased, Ai walked through Beika, holding the roses tightly to her chest. Many people glanced curiously at the girl who was dressed in black and carrying a bouquet of roses fit for a bride, but Ai didn't appear to notice the looks cast her way. She just moved toward her destination: a graveyard in front of a small church on the outskirts of Beika. 


	2. Recollections

Ai Haibara gently lifted the latch of the metal gate and opened the door, letting herself into the graveyard. She walked at a leisurely pace among the stones until she reached the one she was looking for. Her memory hadn't failed her; the tombstone was exactly where she remembered, but it was so overgrown with an infusion of pink roses that the inscription was no longer legible. Ai's head bent as the sweet perfume of the blossoms filled her nose, bringing back the scent of a rose bouquet of another time.

"Smell these, Ai-chan. Aren't they sweet?" Not waiting for an answer, Ran Mouri swirled in a circle, sending yards of white silk fluttering about her slender body. Laughing, she held up her bouquet of pink roses so that they wouldn't be disturbed by the flying fabric. Sixteen-year-old Ai Haibara leaned against the wall and watched her with a cool, detached expression. 

"You can't fool me. You don't want to do this." All the movement in the room stopped after this remark was uttered by the red-haired girl. Ran's eyes widened, and she could feel her heartbeat increase. 

"What do you mean?" Ran asked with a nervous laugh. "What shouldn't I do?" She glanced at the girl before her; she always got a funny feeling around Ai, even when Ai was little, she had seemed to be constantly surrounded by an aura of secrecy and sorrow. It was much like the feeling she got when she was around Conan. Ran fixed her eyes on Ai as she waited for an answer.

"You think that he's forgotten you, that he never cared for you, and you want to marry Dr. Araide and use him so that you can forget Shinichi Kudo." Ai crossed her arms across her chest and looked at Ran. "Am I right?"

"Shinichi," Ran said bitterly. "Shinichi was never here, ever. All the times I needed him, all the times I wanted him... he never came to me. When he heard that I was engaged, he called me and wished me happiness for the rest of my life, and he's never called me since."

"What if he can't get back to you? What if he wants to, more than anything, but it's impossible. What if he just wants you to forget him so you can have the life you should have, because he knows he can never get back to you?" Ai demanded. "What if-"

Ran clapped her hands to her ears. "Stop it! I don't want to hear anymore! All of these excuses! You think I haven't heard them before, thought of them before? It's been ten years since I last saw him! I just wish that I could forget him!" To Ran's surprise, tears fell from her eyes, tears she thought she'd shed away years ago. 

Ai opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could say a thing, the door burst open and Ayumi ran into the room.

"Ran nee-chan! You look so beautiful! Oh... Why are you crying? Don't cry. You're going to be married soon. Aren't you happy?" Ayumi babbled in a single breath. 

As Ran valiantly dabbed her tears away, Ai turned around and stalked out of the room. 

Ai's hands limply fell to her sides and the red bouquet tumbled to the ground in front of the tombstone as she let all of the old memories claim her. 

It was the last day of school; Genta, Ayumi, Mitsushiko, Conan, and Ai had just passed their tenth grade finals. 

"Finally!" Genta screamed at the top of his lungs. "We're free!"

"Yeah!" Mitsushiko echoed. "It's great!"

"I know! And just think! Ran nee-chan's wedding is at the end of this week. It'll be so exciting!" Ayumi exclaimed. "Oh, hurry! They've posted the grade list! My mother said I could get a new dress for Ran nee-chan's wedding if I get in the top 50."

The Detective Boys made their way down the hall, but by the time they reached the postings, a crowd of people had already gathered around them, chatting loudly about the grades. Only the top of the list could e seen from the back of the crowd. 

"Oh, look, Ai-chan. You and Conan-kun tied for first again. Congratulations!" Ayumi cried as she scanned the list. When she heard no reply, she turned around to look at Conan and Ai, but they were already gone. "Hey, Genta, Mitsushiko, have you seen Conan and Ai?" Ayumi asked.

"I guess they left. When you've been first for every year of your life, I guess you get tired of checking the lists when you know you're gonna be at the top. Anyway, I gotta see if I'm in the top 100. If not, I'll be in big trouble at home." Genta replied, turning back around. "Oh, hey, Ayumi, you're number 50!" 

"Kudo-kun!" Ai called as she hurried after Conan, struggling to keep up because of his rapid stride. Conan heard her, but he didn't slow down; he just kept walking.

"Are you okay?" Ai asked. "I thought that was how you wanted it, now that..."

"Haibara, are you sure there's no way? Are you positive? Please, don't be afraid to tell me, even if there's the slimmest hope that you can create the antidote. I... I..."

"Well... Kudo-kun... I..." Ai stammered.

"What?" Conan gasped. "Can you..."

"I don't know. It's been ten years. I just don't know what to tell you, I really don't. She's been suffering. Ten years is a long time..." Ai trailed off.

"You think I don't know that? Haibara, I live at the Detective Agency. I know. I'm happy for her, I really am. I don't' want her to waste her life waiting. I promised myself a long time ago that she wouldn't have to suffer for me. If I couldn't be back by the time we would have been 25, I would just let Shinichi Kudo fade from her life. That was two years ago." Conan explained.

"And you think she'll just be happy once you're out of her life?" Ai sneered. "You are so stupid sometimes. I spoke to her at the dress rehearsal. You think she's just put you out of her mind? You haven't forgotten her, have you?"

Conan was shocked. "But, I was the one who just disappeared from her life. She has a right to be angry. She should hate me."

"Part of love is forgiveness." Ai stated simply. 

Conan didn't know what to say. By that time, the teenagers had reached the Detective Agency. No one was home; Kogoro had been busy preparing for the wedding all week. Conan's eyes traveled over the mess of the room.

"So, what are you going to do?" Haibara asked. 

Conan turned around; Ai had followed him in.

"I don' know." Conan replied dejectedly. "Here, Haibara." he handed her a can of beer from Kogoro's plentiful store. "Let's drink to our pathetic lives and the freaks of nature that we are."

Ai Haibara wordlessly took the can that he offered. "Why not?" she asked herself; she normally didn't drink, but it would be really nice to be able to forget all of the sadness, grief, and despair that she had caused. It would be really nice to forget, even if it could only be temporary. So nice. Without any further hesitation, she popped open the can. Conan was already halfway through his first can. The first sip was bitter, but it became easier and easier to swallow the brown liquid; it became an automatic reaction. Soon, the first can was gone. Ai raised it to her lips, discovered that it was empty, and her fingers loosened, letting the can crash as it landed on the floor. Hearing the sound, Conan turned around, slowly. A faint grin appeared on his face and he pushed another can in her direction.

Two hours later, they were both extremely intoxicated. Ai and Conan had each consumed six cans of beer. The world swam, and keeping their eyes open was a constant struggle. 

"Ai? I lied. I don't want her to marry Dr. Araide. I'm miserable. I..." before he had a chance to finish his sentence, he blacked out and dropped to the ground from over consumption of alcohol. Ai was already unconscious on the floor, surrounded by beer cans.

Ai's eyes, hidden by the dark sunglasses, blinked. A gentle wind brushed past her, sending a medley of the pink rose petals against her slender frame. Ai reached in front of her and plucked a blossom from the curtain of roses that covered the tombstone. 

"I'm sorry." Ai apologized, clutching the rose by its thorny stem. "I'm sorry for how things were, how they could have been, how they undoubtedly would have been if not for my interference." She had held the rose so tightly that the thorns had pierced her skin. She released the flower, and it fell to the ground, her blood dripping and dying the flower and ground red. "I'm sorry...Ran."

¡@


End file.
